Banana Bread to help growers get through tough times

A group of Carnarvon Banana Growers has announced that bananas, salvaged after Tropical Cyclone Olwyn destroyed Banana Plantations in Carnarvon, will be turned into banana bread to sustain growers through the next 12 months.

Launched in Perth today by Minister for Agriculture the Hon Ken Baston, Woolworths will be the first major retailer to stock the Western Australian sourced and made Sweeter Banana Bread, growing its distribution to 30 Woolworth’s stores in WA.
Speaking at the launch of Sweeter Banana Bread into select Woolworths Perth stores, Agriculture and Food Minister Ken Baston applauded the co-operative members for their entrepreneurial response during a very difficult period for Carnarvon growers.
“Cooperative members are not giving up despite the setbacks and they are doing everything they can to provide their customers with a product.” Said Minister Baston.

Owned and operated by 25 farmers on family run farms, The Sweeter Banana Cooperative was formed in 1993 to develop the Carnarvon Sweeter Banana brand, providing delicious local produce to local customers.

The unique environmental growing conditions of the Carnarvon Sweeter Banana make it a sweeter and creamier sub-tropical banana than its Tropical North Queensland cousins. However, these same unique environmental conditions can also result in bananas being damaged with superficial skin markings, rendering the fruit unsuitable for retail sale but still perfect eating. To combat wastage, the farmers came up with a solution; Sweeter Banana Bread.

The all-natural Sweeter Banana Bread contains Carnarvon bananas along with other locally sourced ingredients including flour, eggs and sour cream. The result is a sustainable product that not only minimises wastage but also further supports the wider Western Australian Farming Industry.
Sweeter Banana Co-operative is part of the Buy West Eat Best labelling program, run by the Department of Agriculture and Food.
The program provides Western Australian consumers and the local food industry with a food-specific brand to clearly identify Western Australian grown, farmed, fished and produced food products.

The Sweeter Banana Co-operative Business Manager, Doriana Mangili said, “Our farmers have been producing bananas for more than 30 years but the effects of Tropical Cyclone Olwyn have been devastating to the Western Australian banana industry, destroying nearly all of our crops. We will be out of production for at least the next 9 months.”

“The crops that we were able to salvage have gone into our Sweeter Banana Bread. By buying our delicious banana bread, you’re also supporting the Western Australian banana industry at a time we need it the most.”

Woolworths Local Sourcing Manager for WA, Lynne Vawser said, “The Sweeter Banana Co-operative has been supplying our WA customers with some of the best tasting bananas and our customers love being able to choose local produce. We are extremely pleased to now stock their delicious Sweeter Banana Bread. ”

The 600g loaf of the Sweeter Banana Bread is available in 30 Woolworths stores in WA and retails for $6.99.

The Fresh Buy West Eat Best magazine attached to the West Australian newspaper on the 27th of November published a very nice recipe made with the Sweeter Banana Bread . Here is the recipe again if you missed it!

We are very pleased to present this photos of Sweeter Banana Bread sales at Limes in Myaree and Sisters Supa IGA at Lakeside Shopping Centre Joondalup

We have taken WA’s favourite bananas and turned them into a fantastic new all natural banana bread. Here at Sweeter Banana we care about WA farmers and this delicious bread is made with 30% ripe Carnarvon bananas, and all natural ingredients – no preservatives or artificial colours or flavourings. Made in WA with WA ingredients the Bread contains Carnarvon Bananas and WA flour, WA eggs and WA sour cream and it’s made from real bananas not pulp!. Purchasing our Banana bread not only gives you some great options for snacks but it helps to keep our Carnarvon Banana industry sustainable. So not only are you doing a good deed for farmers but you get a tasty reward!

Supply of Carnarvon Bananas this week hit a 20 year low, with the full impacts of the heatwave in January being acutely felt.
Sweeter Banana Grower, Bruce Munro, said that the heatwave resulted in an overall loss of 25% of fruit across the district, with the biggest impact being felt now, when the bunches that were formed during the heatwave are due to be picked. “Our records show that the bunches that we should be picking now are the ones that came out during the heatwave or just after” added Bruce “it seems that the extreme heat may have damaged the development of the bunches and we have had a lot of bunches just falling from the trees or not developing at all.

Banana growers in Carnarvon, Western Australia, will get compensation for lost crops during a heatwave in February.

Comment to our Web page:

Hi Guys,
I live in Perth and get your bananas from Swansea st markets or the local farmers market in Bentley. Id just like to say what a fantastic product you growers have!! The bananas are a perfect size, the perfect price and best of all are local and spray free.
Myself, my family and friends are very health conscious, growing most of our fruit and veg. Bananas are in integral to our diet. Produce like this is sometimes hard to find, and I'm glad you have a good team that's doing a great job growing and distributing such a great product. Thank you!!
Kind Regards,
Claire from Bentley

In Western Australia extensive trials are underway to work out why Carnarvon bananas have a shorter shelf life than bananas grown in the north.
The research has prompted a major investment by Western Australia's Sweeter Banana Cooperative to bring the latest technology to its cooling systems and packing sheds.

Curtin University study indicates that West Australian bananas have double the dosage of Potassium and Magnesium then other bananas.

The Sweeter Banana growers and their families travelled from Carnarvon to Perth and offered the Royal Show visitors to taste the difference in a tropical grown banana compared to a sub-tropical banana and the result was overwhelming.

The Sweeter Banana growers and their families welcome you to come and be convinced that 9 out of 10 people prefers the taste of a Carnarvon grown sweeter banana instead of a fast growing tropical banana!

Please come and visit our stand at the Pavilion monitor between the 29th of September and 6 of October 2012.

"Thank you so much for bringing to the market the best bananas I have tried for years. I had just about given up on bananas and then along came sweeterbananas. My grandchildren eat them as snacks, drinks and as part of their main meals. We all agree they are delicious."

The Sweeter Banana Co-operative is selling bananas at the Manning and Stirling farmers markets. Murray is from Carnarvon and represents the Sweeter Banana brand at the farmers markets; he has a genuine interest of bananas and can tell customers about the growing conditions in Carnarvon while he is cutting up tasting samples for the market visitors.

“These bananas are heavily marked and classed as below second grade produce which would not be accepted by Perth retailers. However, they’re still fit for consumption,” Mr Marmion said.

With 16+ employees, Employee of the year and also the Best Overall Business of the year at the the Carnarvon Chamber of Commerce and Industry annual Small Business Awards night on the 30th of July 2011

Western Australia bananas catching up with Queensland

Posted on 17.01.2013

In Western Australia extensive trials are underway to work out why Carnarvon bananas have a shorter shelf life than bananas grown in the north.
The research has prompted a major investment by Western Australia's Sweeter Banana Cooperative to bring the latest technology to its cooling systems and packing sheds.

Western Australia bananas catching up with Queensland

Far North Queensland has long been the stronghold of the banana industry, but could the region's reputation as the best banana growing region in the country under threat?

In Western Australia extensive trials are underway to work out why Carnarvon bananas have a shorter shelf life than bananas grown in the north.

The research has prompted a major investment by Western Australia's Sweeter Banana Cooperative to bring the latest technology to its cooling systems and packing sheds.

Business development manager Doriana Mangilli says the improvements have already achieved longer shelf life of bananas by days and a 90 per cent reduction in rejection rates.

"It's pretty much keeping the temperature (of the bananas) as low as we can from the moment it's picked."

"... what we're seeing is we're actually catching up those Queensland bananas now in terms of when you buy them in the shops and get them home."

Australian Banana Grower Council president Doug Phillips, who grows bananas on the Cassowary Coast, has applauded the initiative which he says is addressing environmental issues specific to Canarvon where temperatures can reach 40 degrees but without the humidity experienced in North Queensland.

"They are using these micro sprinklers within the (packing) shed and that almost works like an evaporative cooling system so those types of systems generally work very well in the drier climates but we don't really get those same high temperatures."

Mr Phillips says the methods might be different but the objective remains the same - to get the bananas into cool storage as quickly as possible.

"At times if necessary, if fruit is going to be stored in a non controlled environment, the use of sprinklers on the fruit to help keep it cool is certainly used in North Queensland which I am sure it is in Western Australia to."

"At the end of the day, all we are is growers who are trying to the very best that we can and make sure that the product that each of us, whether it's in North Queensland or Western Australia, is the very best that we can do."